1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the art of electrical connectors, and more particularly to a floatable electrical connector assembly having a fixed housing and a movable housing discretely and movably attached to the fixed housing for permitting the movable housing movable relative to the fixed housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the case where, for example, a relatively small-sized hard disc drive conformity with the SATA (Serial AT Attachment) which is one of extensions of the ATA (AT Attachment) standard is electrically connected with a solid printed circuit board, on which various electrical parts are directly mounted, an electrical connector having a floating coupling portion which is able to move in a predetermined range to be coupled with the hard disc drive is used. The electrical connector having the floating coupling portion comprises a fixed housing attached to the solid printed circuit board and a movable housing coupled through conductive contacts with the fixed housing. A connecting hollow in which a counterpart electrical connector provided on the hard disc drive is inserted to be connected with the conductive contacts is provided in the movable housing to form the floating coupling portion with which the hard disc drive is coupled.
In such an electrical connector as mentioned above, vibrations and shocks acting on the hard disc drive coupled with the floating coupling portion are absorbed by the movable housing in which the floating coupling portion is provided. Therefore, the hard disc drive coupled with the floating coupling portion is protected against the vibrations and shocks acting thereon.
There has been previously proposed, as the electrical connector having the floating coupling portion, an electrical connector in which a movable housing provided with a coupling hollow forming a floating coupling portion is arranged to be able to move to a fixed housing attached to a circuit board in a predetermined range. But the movable housings of these connectors are not capable of being stably movable relative to the fixed housing due to their floating coupling portions.